3.1 Job advertisements
In accordance with the department’s appointment and recruitment strategy as well job position plans, the department management team decides which job to advertise.
The department management team can advertise postdoc positions.
3.1.1 Shortlisting
If shortlisting is used, it must clearly be stated in the job advertisement in question that shortlisting is possible.
Once it has been decided to use shortlisting, it cannot later in the recruitment process be deselected.
Shortlisting refers to a process in which a small number of applicants are selected for an academic assessment from the total pool of applicants. The applicants selected for this assessment are those who are – on the basis of an academic assessment – assessed as best able to meet the relevant qualifications, competences, experience and potential demanded in the job advertisement.
The qualification requirements in the job advertisement must provide the basis for shortlisting, assessment and final recommendation and must therefore be considered very carefully.
For further information about shortlist, including the shortlisting process, please see "Shortlisting in connection with recruitment".
3.1.2 Exemptions to the requirements for job advertisements
As a rule, all academic positions covered by the job structure must be advertised. However, the following exceptions apply5:
5 For appointments and extensions in accordance with sections 8 and 9, the ordinary rules for the appointment of assessment committees are used.
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GUIDELINES FOR HEADS OF DEPARTMENT - POSTDOCS
• Pursuant to section 9 of the Appointment Order, appointments/extensions in all job categories can take place without prior advertisement for periods of employment of less than one year and subsequent extensions of one year (two years in total).
• Appointments for earmarked grants (see the appointment order, section 8).
3.1.3 Minimum number of hours in the position (employment rate)
At Health, it is not a wish to have part-time positions with an employment rate of less than 20%.
In other words, positions must have a minimum of 7.4 hours per week, corresponding to 20% of a full-time position.
The Vice-dean for Research may, however, after a specific and individual assessment, grant exemptions from the requirement for an employment rate of at least 20%.
3.2 Appointment committee
The selection of the appointment committee’s members6 takes place either concurrently with the preparation and finalisation of the job advertisement or immediately after the approval of the job advertisement.
3.2.1 Composition of the appointment committee
An appointment committee is set up7 which undertakes appointments to postdoc positions.
• The Head of Department or other manager (authorised by the Head of Department) is chair.
• The Head of Department appoints the other members after seeking relevant advice.
For further information about appointment committees, including information about the appointment committees’
work, please see "Guidelines for appointment committees".
For further information about the appointment committees confidentiality and GDPR, please see “Guidelines regarding confidentiality and GDPR for appointment, assessment and advisory committees”.
3.3 Assessment committee
The Appointment Order lays down the general rules for the appointment of academic staff in accordance with section 4:
Section 4. “The university determines the rules for the academic assessment of applicants for academic positions.
(2) The academic assessment committee must decide whether the applicants possess the required academic qualifications within research, teaching, communication, etc., as prescribed by the job structure, and whether they meet any other qualification requirements specified in the job advertisement. A non-prioritised,
substantiated, written assessment of the applicants’ qualifications must be submitted to the rector. If there are any differences of opinion between the members of the assessment committee, this must be stated in the
assessment.”
The senior management team at AU has laid down the overall guidelines for the selection of members of assessment committees at AU in the spring of 2013. The guidelines should be seen as a framework. Each faculty has had the opportunity to add its input to and possibly narrow down this framework.8
Pursuant to the Ministerial Order on Appointment of Academic Staff at Universities and AU's general guidelines for academic assessment in connection with the appointment of academic staff (with/without advertisement) as well as extensions, the faculty management team at Health has adopted the following guidelines for the composition of assessment committees. (See section 3.3.3).
The appointment of assessment committees should seek to ensure an equal distribution of men and women.
6 If shortlisting is used, there is a formal requirement for an appointment committee to be appointed.
7 An appointment committee is a possibility in the case of appointments as postdoc, but they are a requirement when using shortlisting.
8 See the memo on the composition of assessment committees at Health in accordance with AU’s internally agreed framework of 9 August 2013, section 1.
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3.3.1 Definition of an assessment committee
Assessment committee:
An assessment committee prepares an assessment.
3.3.2 Eligibility requirements for assessment committees
To ensure that the assessment of applicants for academic positions is not affected by irrelevant considerations, no member of the committee may be judged unqualified to serve or at risk of having a conflict of interest in relation to individual assessments. Health bases its decisions on the regulations in the Danish Public
Administration Act concerning impartiality, which relates to e.g. family relations, friendships and special personal and financial interests.9
This may, for example, include co-publication, supervisor relations or other types of cooperation, which cannot be considered compatible with the role as assessment committee member in relation to the advertised position.10
At Health, members of an assessment committee may only to a very limited extent be involved in joint publications and projects with applicants, and only in exceptional cases may have been involved in any joint publications within the past five years11 (see Declaration of impartiality (Danish/English)).
Furthermore, Dean, Vice-deans and Heads of Department may not act as members of an assessment committee, as they are a part of the management and therefore have authority to make decisions regarding appointments.
3.3.3 Composition of committees
For the composition of committees for the appointment of a postdoc, irrespective of the length of employment, an assessment committee must be established to prepare a postdoc assessment.12
Postdoc
An assessment committee is established consisting of two internal members at associate professor level as a minimum, of which one member may be from another department.
For further information about the assessment committees’, including information about the assessment committees’
work, please see "Guidelines for assessment committee".
For further information about the assessment committees’ confidentiality and GDPR, please see “Guidelines regarding confidentiality and GDPR for appointment, assessment and advisory committees”.
3.3.4 Recommendation of members to the assessment committee
Internal assessors may not be part of the managerial structure at the department in question, as they make decisions regarding appointment.
Recommendations of members of the assessment committee for postdocs must include the following:
• Statement of the name, position, place of employment, country and email address of the proposed assessor
• CVs must be submitted via a URL
The proposed members of the committee must be consulted and have signed a declaration of impartiality (Danish/English) before the proposal is sent to HR.
9 See the Danish Public Administration Act, section 3 (1) (on disqualification).
6 See. the memo on the composition of assessment committees at Health in accordance with AU’s internally agreed framework of 9 August 2013, section 3.
11 See the memo on the composition of assessment committees at Health in accordance with AU’s internally agreed framework of 9 August 2013, section 1.
12 An emeritus cannot be a member of an assessment committee. The holder of an honorary title can be a member of an assessment committee.
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GUIDELINES FOR HEADS OF DEPARTMENT - POSTDOCS
3.3.5 Approval of assessment committees
The Head of Department approves committees for all postdoc positions and ensures that the rules for the composition of committees have been complied with.
3.3.6 Assessment
An assessment must be prepared for the appointment of a postdoc regardless of the period of employment.
3.3.6.1 Requirements and content
The assessment must be prepared on the basis of the material submitted by the applicant, which is assessed in relation to the following:
• The qualification level of the position in question, as described in the Ministerial Order on Job Structure for Academic Staff at Universities
• "Criteria for appointment - postdoc" (Danish/English) and "Template for assessment - postdoc"
(Danish/English).
• The position as described in the wording of the job advertisement/the academic description of the position.
It should be noted that the “Criteria for appointment - postdoc” supplement the qualification requirements in the job structure in the case of appointments to postdoc positions. It is important to emphasise that the criteria are intended as a guide and that they are not rules. An assessment will always be based on an overall assessment of the
applicant, just as all criteria must be viewed in the light of the individual applicant's active research time (including the length of any periods of leave), potential and the academic area in question.
Requirements for the content and design of an assessment are stated in the “Template for assessment - postdoc”
(Danish/English).
3.3.6.2 Period of validity
Assessments carried out in accordance with these guidelines for fixed-term positions will remain valid as long as the appointment is within the same job category, if there are no significant changes to the position.
A new assessment for fixed-term employment only takes place in the case of transition from one job category to another or if there is a change of position that entails significant changes to the position.
3.3.7 Approval of assessments
The Head of Department ensures that the formal requirements in a postdoc assessment are met.
If the assessment does not constitute a sufficient basis for decision and/or does not meet the formal requirements, it must be returned to the committee for additions or revision.
If there is disagreement among the members of the assessment committee, the Head of Department has the final decision-making authority. Any differences of opinion between the members of the assessment
committee must be stated in the assessment, following which the Head of Department makes the final decision on whether the candidate is assessed as being qualified or not qualified.
Once the final assessment is available, the applicant will receive the committee's assessment of this. This is sent electronically by HR.